1. Field
The present teachings generally relate to the field of signal processing and more particularly, to a system and methods for detecting and resolving signals associated with a biological analysis platform.
2. Description of the Related Art
During biological analysis, such as nucleotide sequencing or microarray processing, photo-detectors such as charge coupled devices (CCD) are used to detect signals arising from labeled samples or probe features responsive to selected target analytes. These signals may take the form of fluorescent or visible light emissions that are desirably analyzed to quantify observed light intensity arising from each labeled sample or probe feature and are subsequently resolved to quantitatively or qualitatively evaluate the presence of a target analyte within a sample. Generally, the photo detector, used in the analysis, comprises a segmented array of light-detecting elements or pixels. During image acquisition, systematic errors inherent in the detector and/or undesirable deviations or variability induced by the operating conditions of the instrument may confound accurate resolution of the signals. The effects of these deviations and variability may manifest themselves as a “black box” like error that may reduce accuracy and sensitivity in data acquisition and induce undesirable variability in the analysis results. Consequently, there is an ongoing need for an improved approach in which photo-detector related errors are identified and characterized to improve the overall quality of data acquisition in biological analysis.